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Traveller families in need of permanent homes

Plan for Traveller accommodation ‘bodes ill

AHEAD of the four day National Hunt Festival at Leopardstown, which begins on Friday, St Stephen’s Day, trainer Willie Mullins has con- firmed he could run_ stablemates Cousin Vinny and Hurricane Fly in the same race for the second time in a month.

The possibility of the two meeting could arrive on Saturday as over the weekend, Mullins said that there was “every possibility” that Cousin Vin- ny will run.

Last year, Cousin Vinny was the first horse to complete the Chelten- ham and Punchestown bumper dou- ble and Mullins confirmed that is he does go on Saturday, it wouldn’t pose a problem to the trainer if he and Hurricane Fly run in the same race.

“Cousin Vinny’s hurdling debut was very pleasing and he obviously has loads of speed as you need that to win three bumpers,” said Mullins. ‘“He’s won on good ground and on soft ground but his best form is on good ground.”

Mullins also stated that Hurricane Fly has had some invaluable experi- ence of late. “He had a lot of expert- ence form his runs in the spring,” he continued. “He stepped back to two miles last time but two and a half miles isn’t a problem either as he was second in a Grade One and won a

Grade Three over that trip.”

Meanwhile, over the weekend, the big news from Thurles was that odds on favourite Solwhit failed to land the Jockey Hotel Hurdle on Sunday.

With Paddy Flood on board, Nine- tieth Minute was steered to success despite Charles Byrnes’ Solwhit go- ing to the track priced at 1-3.

To Flood’s credit, though, Ninetieth Minute looked to be in control of the race from start to finish and despite a strong fight from Solwhit, he was un- able to get ahead in the race and ulti- mately lost by three parts of a length at the line.

However, it wasn’t a total negative experience for Byrnes as Dromin Hill Echo, with Lenny Flynn on board, landed the Molony Cup Handicap Chase in emphatic fashion.

Afterwards, Byrnes also confirmed that he will go at Leopardstown and Limerick and will most likely go to Limerick under a mandatory pen- alty.

There was further positive news for Byrnes when his 50-1 shot Bit of a Devil took the INH Stallion Owners’ EBF Maiden Hurdle.

Two out, Bit of a Devil took control of the race and bombed home in what was a first winner for jockey Justin AY Lora) ens

THERE was one election at the 2008 GAA convention — for the five places up for grabs among seven contestants for honour of joining board chairman Michael O’Neill and secretary Pat Fitzgerald as delegates to the 2009 GAA Congress.

Robert Frost (O’Callaghan’s Mills), Noel Walsh (St Joseph’s Mailtown), Syl O’Connor (Sixmilebridge), Ger Hickey (Feakle) and John O’Sullivan (Ruan) were the candidates who won out, with board vice-chairman John-

ny Hill (Lissycasey) and longtime Congress delegate Gabriel Keating (Naomh Eoin) losing out. Meanwhile, only one position on the Clare County Board team re- mains vacant, as convention failed to election a Youth Officer. Both Michael O’Connor (Crusheen) and Sean O’Halloran (Bodyke) were nominated for the position, but de- clined to let their names go forward. “It would be very selfish of me to allow my name go forward. I have the position of cathaoirleach of Bord na nOg Jomaint and the job of youth

officer 1s a very important position. I decline my name going forward,” said Sean O’ Halloran.

‘Sean has a lot to offer as youth of- ficer and I would hope that he would re-consider,’ said secretary Pat Fit- zgerald.

“IT too an important a position to be dual mandated,’ responded O’Halloran. “It is a crucial position, especially in the modern era with the development of our games. I believe that the position should stand on its own merits. On that basis I won’t al- low my name go forward.”

HOPES in Eire Og hurling circles that Ogonnelloe were about to hand them a Christmas present of staying up at senior level for the 2009 cham- pionship season have been quashed WOM Wiere) © a

Word was rife within Eire Og ranks that Ogonnelloe were on the cusp of lodging an application with the Clare County Board to be regraded from senior to intermediate level for 2009.

Depleted playing numbers and the possible transfer of a couple of high profile players from the club were thought to be at the root of such a move by the east Clare club that has punched above its weight at senior level for the past decade.

However, speaking to

PROTESTERS in Ennis served a re- minder to Clare TDs on Friday that cutbacks in education spending have not been forgotten about.

Just over three months after Min- ister for Finance Brian Lenihan announced a raft of controversial budget measures, parents at Ennis CBS took to the streets to voice their anger at the cuts.

Members of the Parents’ Associa- tion of Ennis CBS visited the offices of Clare’s government representatives on Friday last where they handed in letters outlining the implications of the proposed budget cutbacks on pu- pils of the CBS.

They also urged TDs to support parent’s calls to reverse the decision’s taken in October’s budget.

According to a statement released by Ennis CBS, the school will lose three teachers if the cutbacks pro- ceed as planned.

“The loss of a teacher due to the increased pupil teacher ration of 28:1 will impact on class sizes and it may be necessary to split classes. This will happen in a situation where a number of pupils in the CBS are already in classes exceeding 30+ pupils. We do not hold the Principal or Board of Management culpable for this situation’, declares the state- ment.

School representatives say Ennis CBS will lose two English language support teachers and will be heavily impacted by funding cuts.

According to the school this in- cludes a loss of €1270 for learning Support and resource grants for pu- pils with special needs; a reduction in Traveller education funding with a resulting loss of €3000 to the school; the abolition of the free book scheme which equals a loss of €1724.50 and the abolition of funding for the local library which supports the school class libraries, resulting in a loss of funding to CBS of €2540.00.

Parents and teachers are also con- cerned by the cut in funding for pri- mary school building by 5%, point-

ing to rising costs in electricity, phone, fuel etc.

The statement concludes, ““Parents/ guardians are concerned that, despite a capital allocation in the Budget, we are no nearer to obtaining a new premises despite acknowledgment at political and educational level of the need for a new school”.

“DANGEROUS and irresponsible” is how the GPs of the county have de- scribed plans by the HSE to remove 24-hour acute surgical services from Ennis General Hospital from April iF

The removal of the services will not just downgrade the hospital’s serv- ices but it will also lead to the end of 24-hour accident and emergency services at the county’s hospital, ac- cording to the doctors.

Chairman of the Clare Faculty of the Irish College of General Practi- tioners, Michael Harty said, “The re- moval of 24-hour surgical services at MWRH-Ennis will lead in sequence to the loss of anaesthetic on call serv- ices, intensive care and coronary care services, all acute medical emergen-

cy services, and finally the discon- tinuation of all in patient admissions and casualty services. By removing surgical services, the HSE will be re- moving the key-stone which supports all other services and will lead to the domino collapse of all acute services at MWRH-Ennis.”

Dr Harty was speaking after in- formal meetings between GP rep- resentatives from Clare and north Tipperary and the project manager appointed to over see the recommen- dations of the review of acute serv- ices in the mid-west also know as the teamwork report.

The report is expected to be pub- lished in January, with its recom- mendations to be implemented in rule

“No provision has been made to provide alternative services in Ennis

or additional services in Limerick Regional Hospital, which is already unable to cope with its existing work load. Ambulance personnel will not be able to safely supply the addi- tional services required,” warned Dr eEvua‘e

“The general practitioners funda- mentally oppose and object to this poorly thought out dismantling of acute services in Clare, at a time when the alternative being offered is already over stretched and full to ca- pacity,” said the Clare doctors’ repre- sentative. “This change is not safe or sensible,” he said.

“Our understanding is that the Mid Western Regional Hospital Limer- ick is functioning beyond its means. It does not have the capacity to deal with the extra workload. There is a problem with the structure in Limer-

ick to deal with an influx of patients and how they will be processed,” said Dr Harty.

“The dismantling of acute services has been planned and is being im- plemented without any consultation with the general practitioners or the patients of the county.

“This administrative decision 1s founded on financial savings and is not based on quality of care issues or the principals of safe and sensible medical practice,” he said.

A HE spokesperson said, “The HSE is currently working on de- tailed plans to address patient safety concerns in the mid-west, which are already in the public domain. The in- tention is to communicate fully with the key stakeholders as soon as this process is complete and this includes general practitioners.”

THE chambers of commerce in the mid-west have come out in force to welcome the news that the Heathrow slots are to return to Shannon.

The American Chamber of Com- merce mid west region has welcomed the news saying that the region must now capitalise on the opportunities this, and other recent developments at the Airport present.

Chairman Bill Doherty, © said; “Shannon Airport, with connectiv- ity to both Heathrow and Charles de Gaulle, together with daily transat- lantic flights and the strong presence

of Ryanair is at its strongest for many years. Business and tourism inter- ests, working together with the man- agement at Shannon Airport must now capitalise on the opportunities presented by daily connectivity to two of the busiest airports in Europe as well as the granting of full Cus- toms and Border Protection (CBP) pre-clearance facilities for transat- lantic services to the US. *

He added that the “pre-clearance facilities at Shannon will make it easier for airlines to do business in Ireland and will save time for busi- ness people travelling between Ire- land and the US. It also opens other

opportunities for the airport in terms of attracting corporate aviation and freight services to Shannon to avail of this facility.”

Ennis Chamber CEO, Rita MclIner- ney, said that the announcement is “a major boost for business in this re- gion. We’re absolutely delighted and we would hope that it might increase from two slots to four again.”

And she urged business people to “come out and support the route. A lot of people may have made other ar- rangements by now, and while we’re not impressed with what Aer Lingus did, we should support the service now as a business community.

Particularly with the early morning flight out and the evening return, this route was very successful before it was pulled.”

President of Limerick Chamber Sean Lally stated, “We are delight- ed to welcome Aer Lingus back to Shannon Airport. This is something which we have continued to lobby for on behalf of our members since the routes were discontinued 12 months ago.

“The restoration of these flights is a clear indicator that the region has both the critical mass and com- mercial viability to warrant their re- ate

THE Hibernian insurance group’s Clare branch in Ennis 1s going green, following the decision to award a two year green energy supply contract to competitive electricity provider En- eae

In addition to enhanced environ- mental sustainability, the new supply deal will also reduce Hibernian’s en- Cea Ya OED ICE

The deal covers thirty sites nation- wide and the electricity requirement of 8.8 GWh (Gigawatt Hours) is the equivalent of supplying almost 1,900 homes.

The new green energy deal is an important element of Hibernian’s commitment towards _ sustainable practices and will represent an annu- al reduction of around 4,800 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the at- mosphere each year.

Commenting on the deal, Sheila Kelly, Manager of Hibernian’s Ennis branch said: “As well as looking out for the needs of our customers, Hi- bernian is also committed to looking out for the environment, by making our Operations as efficient and en- vironmentally friendly as possible, both in Clare and our other nation- wide branches.”

“Over the past year, Hibernian has implemented a number of initiatives to reduce our carbon footprint and this deal with Energia is one more example of that commitment. It’s also an example of the benefit of shopping around as Hibernian has been able to reduce its energy costs while also removing 4,800 tonnes of carbon dioxide per annum,’ said Ms Khe

Energia offers an energy efficiency programme to its customers which, if fully embraced, can reduce energy consumption by up to 20%.

Energia Sales and Marketing Di- rector Gary Ryan said they were working with companies and public sector organisations throughout the country to deliver cost effective en- ergy solutions that deliver real value iKo)upesleystente

Energia has a 25% market share of the business electricity market on an all—island basis with 40,000 custom- ase

The company also supplies one third of all gas consumed in Ireland by the country’s largest industrial and commercial gas users.

EOGHAN O’Sullivan of the Shan- non based UCB Group Schwarz Pharma Ltd was presented with the Excellence Award at the prestigious Engineers Ireland MEETA Awards ceremony last week.

The MEETA Awards, sponsored by PMI Software LTD, rewards ingenu- ity shown by employees in mainte- nance and asset management in pro- viding value to their companies.

Maintenance is a critical factor in an organisation’s ability to compete by increasing the availability of plant and equipment, improving produc- tion processes, producing additional capacity and ensuring resource man-

agement efficiency.

Engineers Ireland is one of the larg- est and oldest representative bodies in Ireland, with a membership which now totals over 23,000 covering all disciplines of the engineering pro- fession. MEETA 1s the national so- ciety within Engineers Ireland which represents the Irish maintenance and asset management community at na- tional and international level.